1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to video image display apparatus and method for displaying a video signal and, more particularly, to video image display apparatus and method for improving a contrast ratio of an image by more naturally performing a color emphasis.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a video image display apparatus, for example, a video monitor for displaying a video signal onto a display, by performing a Y/C separating process to an inputted composite video signal, a component video signal comprising a luminance signal Y and color difference signals R-Y and B-Y is obtained. By matrix processing the component video signal, signals of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are obtained. By performing predetermined signal processes to the R, G, and B signals obtained, a video image is displayed to a display device such as CRT, LCD (liquid crystal display), or the like.
In such a display apparatus, to obtain a more clear video image, for instance, there is a method of improving a contrast of the video image by emphasizing a color by raising a gain of each of the R, G, and B signals.
Among colors, colors having a mentally special meaning exist. As a typical example of such a color, a skin color can be mentioned. The skin color is called a memory color and is a color which the human being inherently has and which has been strongly memorized. Therefore, for example, when a balance among the RGB colors constructing the skin color is merely delicately deviated, a viewer who sees the skin color feels a sense of physical disorder.
Thus, if the contrast is improved by emphasizing the color by raising the gain of each of the R, G, and B signals as mentioned above, a color gain of the skin color as a memory color also rises and there is a problem such that the skin color becomes an unnatural color.
Consequently, hitherto, the color gain is not raised to a value which is equal to or higher than an ordinary set value and there is a problem such that a large improvement of the contrast by the color emphasis cannot be expected.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide video image display apparatus and method in which a sense of physical disorder is not given to a viewer when a contrast is improved by a color emphasis.
According to the invention, to solve the above problems, there is provided a video image display apparatus for receiving a video signal and displaying a video image onto a display device, comprising: first detecting means for detecting a skin color component of the video signal; second detecting means for detecting color components other than the skin color component of the video signal; and color component control means for controlling a gain of the color components of the video signal on the basis of a detection result of the first detecting means and a detection result of the second detecting means.
According to the invention, to solve the above problems, there is also provided a video image display method of receiving a video signal and displaying a video image onto a display device, comprising: first detecting step of detecting a skin color component of the video signal; second detecting step of detecting color components other than the skin color component of the video signal; and color component control step of controlling gains of for the color components of the video signal on the basis of a detection result in the first detecting step and a detection result in the second detecting step.
As mentioned above, according to the invention, the skin color component and the other color components of the video signal are detected and the gains of the color components of the video signal are controlled on the basis of the detected result. Therefore, the gain for the color component of the video signal in the region of the skin color and the gains in the region of the other colors can be made different.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings.